Woman in Charge
by Land of The Delta Blues
Summary: What if after the FBI found out that Brennan and Booth were having a child a new agent was assigned to be Brennan's partner?
1. Chapter 1

**Plotline: **What if Brennan had been assigned a new agent after the bureau realized that her and Booth were becoming too closely involved and decided to sever their partnership as a result. Picks up after season six but won't follow any episodes.

**Inspiration: **Special Agent Teresa Walsh has been dancing around in my brain for a while refusing to let me work on my other stories until I put her to paper.

Reviews will determine if/how often the story is continued.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the Bones characters...I also borrowed Teresa's husband from an NCIS episode (Leap of Faith if you're interested, which you probably aren't), however I do own Teresa.

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"Sir, might I ask why I've been called into your office?" Special Agent Teresa Walsh asked Deputy Director Sam Cullen. Cullen had left a voice mail on her cellphone the previous night stating that he wanted to see her first thing in the morning. Even after a sleepless night she still had no idea what Cullen could possibly want to meet her for and it worried her immensely.

"I'll tell you after Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan arrive." he responded.

Walsh's confusion at the new development must have read clearly on her face, because Cullen seemed about to say something else when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Cullen seemed to already know that it would be the others arriving.

Special Agent Seeley Booth poked his head into the office before noticing Walsh and starting to back out of the room "I'm sorry Sir, if you're busy I can come back later."

"I called you three here for the same reason."Cullen responded and Booth started to enter the room again followed by Dr. Temperance Brennan. They made an odd pair Walsh contemplated. Brennan wasn't an FBI agent, but she'd been partnered with Booth who was one of the best agents the bureau had to offer. Recently, water cooler gossip had began to circulate that the two had taken their partnership outside of the professional field. There had even been a few rumors that they would be having a child, although Walsh didn't believe those quite yet.

Booth opened his mouth to ask the same question that Walsh had earlier, but Cullen cut him off. "The FBI has a rule against partners being romantically involved with each other."

"I know that Sir." Booth responded and Walsh suddenly realized where the discussion was likely going to lead.

"It wouldn't be very professional to leave you as the agent in charge of the Jeffersonian in light of the current situation you have with Dr. Brennan."

"Booth is a very good agent. He won't let our relationship compromise his job." Brennan countered.

"I can't make exceptions to the rule for any of my agents and Agent Walsh here would be happy to at least temporarily take over your role as the chief agent with the Jeffersonian Institution."

"Sir I..." Walsh found herself stuttering.

Cullen didn't seem to hear her, as he continued to speak "Agent Booth will be on desk duty until a suitable replacement position can be found."

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This is basically just a prologue to see if anybody would be interested in reading more of the story, so tell me what you like or don't like about it.


	2. Chapter 2

Walsh found herself mentally asking for at least a few hours to consider what was being given to her. However, when Cullen's desk phone rang and he answered it while dismissing only Booth her hopes were dashed.

"It looks like you two have your first case together." Cullen said hanging up his phone and handing Walsh a note on which he had scribbled directions.

After checking the written directions Walsh knew two things; she was probably going to be taking a rain check on her lunch date and this drive was going to be the most miserable hour of her life.

Walsh pulled her cellphone out as they walked towards the parking garage. There was only one person she wanted to talk with right and although she didn't expect to get a response message for a while, it didn't hurt to send a text so she'd have something to look forward to on the less than pleasant drive.

"Is it damaging to your ego to let someone else drive? With your small stature, it would be understandable if you needed control over something such as driving to keep from sinking into depression."

Walsh couldn't help but stare at Brennan blankly. She'd heard that the younger woman lacked social graces to some extent but the last comment bordered on offensive.

She took a few seconds to gather herself before responding to Brennan "I have no issues with my ego, however I would like to drive since this vehicle is FBI property."

Both women were silent for a few minutes as Walsh drove. Finally, Brennan broke the silence "I'm sorry, you probably found my observation rude. Booth has told me in the past that I need to work on speaking in a more appealing manner."

"It's human to make mistakes." Walsh responded. Maybe there was a chance that this drive wouldn't be completely miserable and that she'd misjudged the scientist.

After several more minutes of silence, Brennan's next comment made her return to her original assumption. "You should know that just because I'm being nice to you doesn't mean I approve of what you did to Booth."

Walsh wanted to point out that she hadn't been the one who had broken the FBI rule and that she hadn't even done what Cullen had suggested she'd done. However, it seemed like a fruitless prospect and she had no desire to make everything more miserable than it already was.

Somehow, the rest of the drive managed to go much better except for the point when Walsh took the personal call she had been expecting. She'd managed to keep the conversation with her husband brief, sensing that the scientist was looking for any excuse to analyze and pick her apart. However, her new partner still managed to find something to criticize.

By the time Walsh pulled up to the crime scene in a Baltimore neighborhood, both women seemed to have agreed that an icy silence would be the best treatment. A van with the Jeffersonian logo on the side of it was already parked nearby and Walsh's dread increased as she exited the Crown Victoria.

The first person she noticed was a red haired man crouched next to what must be the dead body. She immediately recognized him as Dr. Jack Hodgins although she doubted he would recognize her. In fact, the only reason she knew his face was because he'd tried to hack into the Pentagon's Naval databases a few years back. It seemed almost surprising that he'd been deemed mentally stable enough to work with a government agency.

"Where is Booth?" Hodgins asked turning to Brennan.

Before her partner could answer, Walsh caught herself saying "I'm Booth now."

Brennan looked at her with pursed lips for a few seconds before beginning another one of her over literal rants. "If you're having some confusion about your identity you should have a talk with Dr. Sweets. I'm sure he'd be able to help with your disorder."

"I'm Agent Teresa Walsh. I was assigned as a replacement for Agent Booth as the agent in charge of the Jeffersonian Institution." Walsh tried again.

"I didn't think Cullen would actually reassign Agent Booth." a dark skinned woman that Walsh thought was Dr. Saroyan responded again directing her comment towards Brennan as if the FBI agent didn't exist.

"Ahem" Walsh cleared her throat "I know I'm not your favorite FBI agent, but you still need to fill me in because I'm not going anywhere."

"Booth wouldn't rush us." Hodgins pointed out.

"I'm not Booth and I'm not feeling very patient." Walsh countered.

"The body appears to belong to a female in her mid to late twenties." Brennan began. Walsh was sure she heard hints of contempt in the other woman's tone even as she relayed the information.

"Okay, moving on."

"I'll know more after I get these beauties back to the lab, but it would appear that our victim has been here for roughly two weeks." Hodgins added.

Walsh opted to ignore that he'd just called insects beauties and instead pointed to what appeared to be a wound on the skull "could that be the cause of death?"

"I wouldn't confirm or deny that without further tests at the Jeffersonian." Brennan was definitely still trying to show contempt.

"I'll go interview the dog walker who discovered the body." Walsh sighed, finally giving up on trying to get anything more out of the scientists. For a few seconds, she almost thought she saw a look of pity on Dr. Saroyan's face but it disappeared so quickly that she couldn't be sure. Hopefully, the dog walker would be able to provide her with some actual answers.

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Walsh's husband works as a Naval Captain in the Pentagon, which is how she knows about Hodgins trying to hack into the database. Also, I feel like even if she doesn't actively show it often, Cam probably slightly pities Walsh since she was once in a very similar situation with the team.


	3. Chapter 3

Somebody gave an extensive review on how Brennan and the squints definitely need to rebel and show that Booth is their only agent as well as not let Walsh stay around long. While I appreciate that you took the time to write the review, that isn't the plot line at all...that being said, that does not mean that Booth will not appear fairly frequently in the story, it just means that this story is about how awkward it would be for the squints having to deal with having a new agent after working with the same one for so long.

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Walsh was burned out by the time she dropped Brennan off at the Jeffersonian two hours later. She'd tried to convince the younger woman to call her if anything came up, but she had no idea if her request would be complied with or not. A few minutes later she found herself back at the J. Edgar Hoover building walking towards her office.

She was almost in the doorway when she heard her name being called "Agent Walsh!" the young man raced to her and she almost wished she could claim bad hearing. She knew Dr. Sweets probably meant well but she could never take the kid seriously.

"Can this wait."

"I heard about your new job opportunity." he responded.

Walsh vaguely remembered that he considered Booth and Brennan to be good friends of his and the last thing she wanted was for a twelve year old to insult her as well.

"It came as a surprise to me when Cullen gave me the position." she admitted, trying to enter her office.

"How are you and Dr. Brennan getting along?"

"We aren't...I think the whole team hates me."

"Interesting. Don't take it personally, they must be so used to working with Booth that they'll do anything to drive any intruders away at first. They feel like the order they have grown to accept is being damaged."

"Look, I shouldn't have said anything. I don't need some kid trying to tell me why I'm having trouble." she paused before adding "It hasn't even been twenty four hours. I don't like them yet either."

"If you still have problems after a certain period of time I could arrange a therapy session." the young man looked almost gleeful at the idea of being able to put his practice to use.

"I don't think that will be necessary." she wasn't sure how much longer she could handle the young man without snapping at him. Luckily, she was saved by her cellphone ringing.

"You said to call you if I found anything and although I would much prefer it if you were Booth, I do care about the victim enough to not let my animosity reflect on the case."

Walsh sighed "alright, I'll be at the Jeffersonian in a few minutes."

Less than ten minutes later, she found herself standing on the platform looking at the victim who was now laid on a steel autopsy table. "What am I looking at?"

"This." Brennan pointed at the victim's ribs.

"Okay Dr. Brennan...what is 'this' in more understandable language?"

"She has twenty ribs."

"Okay. How many is she supposed to have?" Walsh knew exactly why this wasn't normal, but she figured she should let the scientist explain it to her, lest she be accused of trying to do someone else's job.

"Humans have twenty four ribs, or twelve pairs. It is commonly believed in Christian mythology that men have one less rib than women, but this is not only false but completely illogical to believe. I mean the idea that..."

Walsh checked her watch before expelling a deep breath. It was true what she'd said earlier about not having much patience and even she knew what she was doing was rude, but she couldn't help how antsy she got. "Can I cut you off there and ask where her ribs went?"

"That seems to be what you're doing."

"Well, where did her ribs go?" Walsh asked trying not to sound annoyed but failing miserably even to her own ears.

"Hodgins is going to examine the tool marks from the removal sites, but that's probably going to take longer than you're patient enough to handle so you should probably go back to the FBI building."

"I'm sorry...I have some issues with that. My husband warns me that it could be a put off to some people."

"I don't need to know anything about your personal life Agent Walsh." Brennan responded.

Walsh decided to take this as a sign of dismissal. As much as she hated to admit it, the scientists weren't the only ones who would need to learn tolerance if this relationship was to work.

Again she found herself making the drive back to the FBI building. This time, almost by compulsion she didn't find herself heading towards her own office, but towards one at the opposite end of the floor. Although she hadn't known where she had intended to go before she began her walk, as soon as she reached the door she immediately knew what she had to do.

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Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated. Also, who wants to help me find a face claim for Walsh's fifteen year old step son?


	4. Chapter 4

Walsh briefly wondered if she was making a mistake. After all, if she had been Agent Booth she wouldn't want anything to do with the agent who had taken her job. However, she needed to talk with someone who could tell her what she was doing wrong. She took a deep breath before raising her hand to knock on the door frame.

To say Booth was surprised when he realized who was knocking on his door was an understatement. He held no animosity towards Walsh, she'd only been doing her job but he couldn't understand why she'd be at his door.

"I have no reason to expect you to help me with anything, but I think I'm doing something wrong...with Dr. Brennan that is."

"What did Bones do?"

"She's almost hostile with me. She has been all morning."

"Social skills aren't exactly her strong strong suit." if he remembered correctly, the same seemed to be true about Walsh but he was sure the blonde agent already knew of her own shortcomings so he wasn't going to point them out.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

Booth paused for a second, "I'll have a talk with her and the squints. The way they work, they might not even realize that their behavior could be hurtful to someone else."

"I feel so embarrassed about having to ask, I just feel like my own social graces are only going to make everything worse." Walsh really did look embarrassed and he couldn't blame her, even though she was a good agent she seemed in over her head. At least she'd been willing accept her own faults, because he also knew that Brennan would take Walsh's perceived rudeness to heart and believe she'd done something wrong. The last thing he needed his pregnant girlfriend to be questioning everything about herself and her team.

As soon as Walsh left his office he decided to make the drive to the Jeffersonian. Brennan was on the platform working on what must have been the body from the most recent case. She seemed surprised to see him.

"Booth, what are you doing here?"

"Can't I just want to see the mother of my unborn child?" he asked.

"But that's not the only reason you're here is it?"

"Look, I know things are going to be tough with us not working together anymore..."

"We can still find time to see each other outside of work unless you think it would be too hard to continue our relationship."

"No Bones, I want to be with you. Don't ever doubt that. I'm here about Walsh." his expression softened.

"She talks about her husband excessively, I highly doubt she'd be interested in trying to interfere with our relationship in that way. Although I admit positive attention in any form is quite flattering even if unrequited."

"I know Walsh isn't gay Bones, she's sorry."

"I don't understand why she is sorry about being heterosexual. I wasn't planning on making romantic advances on her to begin with. Did I somehow give off that impression?"

"She's sorry about being rude." he knew that the fellow agent hadn't outright apologized but he had a feeling that it was safe to stretch the truth a little.

"There's no way you can know what she's thinking Booth."

"Well, she came by my office."

"That's a bold move after she took your job."

"Bones, she didn't take my job. I made a mistake as an agent and Cullen put my former position in capable hands. I've seen other agents reassigned to different cities after breaking rules. I'm thankful he didn't do that." he paused, "I know you have trouble with your social skills, well Walsh is kind of the same way. I don't know what she said, and if she insulted you it's okay for you to be unhappy. However, don't take whatever she does or says too seriously."

"So, what you're saying is I shouldn't jump to conclusions about my new partner?"

"Right, now take off your lab coat, you're coming with me." he motioned to her.

"Why?" she eyed him warily. "I probably shouldn't tell you about the case since you are no longer working it, but it's very puzzling and there are many things I need to sort out involving the victim."

"You won't eat dinner if I don't prompt you to do so."

"I will too." she tried to argue.

"No you won't. Now come on, we're heading to the diner."

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This chapter was a little shorter than I'd prefer but I wanted the talks to be the main focus. No Brennan and Walsh aren't suddenly going to be best friends, they're just going to understand eachother slightly better.


	5. Chapter 5

Teresa Walsh had been working as the FBI agent in charge of the Jeffersonian Institution for almost a week now. She wasn't sure what Booth had said to Brennan, but the younger woman seemed to tolerate her now. Considering everything else that had been thrown on her plate within the past week this was enough for at least a short time.

Work was not meant to be the main topic during her lunch break though. Across the table from her sat Naval Captain Roger Walsh, her husband of ten years. If there was one thing Walsh hated to miss, it was the lunch dates they tried to set up daily. Unfortunately, the past week had not been kind to her favorite ritual and this was the first time since she'd been given her new position that they'd been able to keep it. The Royal Diner had long been a favorite eatery of the couple. It was close enough to both of their workplaces that if either of them received an important call they could respond relatively quickly. The diner also was often full of suit clad men and women so it provided a sort of comfortable anonymity to them.

Roger was the one person she had never found her short temper attacking and this was something she would forever be thankful for since she seemed to alienate almost everybody else outside of her job. Right now, the couple was enjoying separate burgers and a shared plate of fries before returning to their jobs. Teresa Walsh was temporarily relaxed and content, until Dr. Jack Hodgins seemed to ignore the other person at the table and sat down next to her holding a folder.

"I finally figured out what tool was used to remove the victim's..." he was cut off by Roger clearing his throat.

Teresa watched a wave of recognition sweep across her husband's face. "You tried to hack into the Pentagon's databases."

Hodgins looked up surprised at the older man, apparently recognizing him as well. She could barely hide her amusement when he turned to her with a puzzled expression on his face. "You're meeting with a Pentagon official?"

"Dr. Hodgins, this is my husband Roger. Roger this is Dr. Jack Hodgins from the Jeffersonian Institution."

The two men shook hands warily. The exchange was almost amusing for Teresa if she wasn't still apprehensive about what Hodgins might do. She didn't trust him just yet and he seemed to be the type with a mischievous streak. Still, she had to give this a chance to go well. She knew Roger would be calm and although he'd probably make more comments later when they were alone he wouldn't say anything too rude around Hodgins. However, she could only hope this encounter would go well.

"I guess I should let you do your job now." Roger turned to her before getting up to leave.

Teresa found herself slightly mad at Hodgins for interrupting her lunch, but she wasn't about to let that show, so she just smiled at her husband and nodded.

Once the other man was out of sight Hodgins turned to her surprised "you're married to a Pentagon official?"

"So?"

"With you being in the FBI and him in the Pentagon, you have access to pretty much any information."

She gave him a funny look "I don't exchange sex for government secrets if that's what you're implying Dr. Hodgins..."

"No, no of course not." Hodgins paused to take in her expression "about the victim."

"Since you interrupted my lunch that would be what I'd like to know about."

"I wasn't sure what removed the victim's ribs at first and when I left the Jeffersonian last night I still had no idea what tools to check, but last night my son..."

Teresa pursed her lips confused "what does your son have to do with the victim's ribs?"

"He has this light that shoots out different colors and...ahh I decided to check to see if the cuts could have been made by a type of laser."

"Could they have?"

"Yes. I'll have to conduct a controlled experiment to deduce exactly what type of laser but they definitely could have been made by a laser."

Teresa sighed, she didn't like the look in the younger man's eyes at all and she was scared about what he could possibly mean by experiment. However, if she was going to have to accept such behavior, now was as good of a time as any to start.

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This chapter was a little short and a little weird, but I admit the main objective was to introduce Walsh's husband and try to give them a scene although I didn't want it to be bigger than Booth and Brennan's. Reviews appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

Walsh was curious about what Hodgins had meant by experiment, but she knew she wouldn't be able to find out until later. Earlier in the morning the victim had finally been identified and she was going to meet the woman's sister at the J. Edgar Hoover. She was walking down the hall to the conference room when Sweets caught up with her.

"You're about to interview the sister aren't you?" he asked.

"I am." Walsh nodded.

"Can I tag along?"

"Why?"

"Well Booth usually let me help with the interviews when Doctor Brennan was working in the lab." Sweets began.

"Do I look like Booth?" Walsh cut off sharply.

"No, you're the wrong gender and you're much shorter than him."

"I'm also much less likely to put up with your sense of humor." Walsh caught herself glaring at the child like therapist. Right at that moment another agent walked by. Walsh tried to compose herself. She already seemed to have the reputation of the bitchy agent who couldn't be polite outside of her job if her life depended on it, and as true as it was, she still completely hated her reputation. "What I mean is do you really think you could be of much help Dr. Sweets?"

"With your temper, yes I think I could."

Walsh bit her tongue, trying to pretend that what Sweets had said about her temper didn't hurt. She had been hearing such comments for years, her first husband had even tried to blame their divorce on her temper. It shouldn't hurt after all this time, but knowing that she often couldn't control herself did hurt.

"Alright, just let me do most of the talking."

By the snort behind her she had a feeling Sweets hadn't agreed to the letting her do most of the talking, but considering that she could already see a woman waiting in the conference room for them she would have to accept this.

Softly she knocked on the conference room door before entering "Emily Harrington?"

The woman at the table nodded before wiping her eyes with a kleenex from the box on the table in front of her.

"I'm Special Agent Teresa Walsh, this is Dr. Lance Sweets. Thank you for coming in today, I understand this might be hard for you." Walsh paused to pull out a chair next to the woman as Sweets took one on the opposite side of the table.

"When was the last time you saw your sister?" Walsh asked.

"About a month ago, I guess."

"You didn't report her missing until two weeks ago." Sweets interjected.

"Ashley didn't live at home. I didn't always see her regularly." Emily paused, "Can I see the body. Our parents both died when we were teenagers. Ashley is...was all I had left."

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Walsh placed her hand on the younger woman's shoulder in an attempt at comforting her. "Do you know if your sister was seeing anyone?"

"I don't think so. Like I said, our lives were kind of separate. Are you sure I can't see the body?"

Walsh opened her mouth to try to give the woman a soothing explanation when Sweets again interjected, apparently believing that she would end up causing the woman to cry "You want to remember her like this."

Walsh let out a breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding. Although it was frustrating that he'd interrupted her, Sweets had actually said exactly what she'd planned to tell the woman.

"Can you think of anything that might help us identify who hurt your sister?"

"I don't think so."

Walsh was about to hand Emily her card when her cellphone went off. "I'm sorry, I have to take this." She mentally cursed herself ,for not turning off her phone during an interview, as she stepped into the hallway. "Agent Walsh speaking."

She was only mildly surprised to find Brennan at the other end of the line "Are you with the victim's sister right now?"

"Yes, why?"

"Ask her if her sister was involved in any cult like religious organizations." Brennan instructed.

"Why would I want to do something like that?" Walsh glanced into the conference room again while she was speaking.

"A package was delivered to my office at the Jeffersonian containing two of the victim's ribs which suggests a ritualistic element to the killing." Walsh couldn't understand how Brennan sounded so calm about what had happened.

"Did you see who delivered the package?"

"No, it was left at the front desk of the Jeffersonian."

"Can you get the security tapes?"

"I already have them." Brennan sounded almost offended by the suggestion that she wouldn't have already considered retrieving the tapes, but Walsh ignored the undertones.

She was still on the phone with Brennan when a younger agent approached her with a package. "Agent Walsh, this was left at the front desk for you."

The first thing she noticed was the reddish brown staining on the bottom corner of the package. She had a sinking feeling that she knew what the package contained. The last thing she needed was for the victim's sister to find out what was in the parcel so she tried to remain calm.

Keeping her tone even she spoke into the phone hoping she wouldn't have to explain very much "Dr. Brennan, could you send one of your scientists over to the Edgar J. Hoover? I think there was a second package that arrived."

"The other two ribs?"

"I think so...please hurry."

For a second she forgot about the younger agent holding the offending package as she tapped on the glass of the conference room to get Sweets' attention.

"What?" he looked at her annoyed for a second before noticing the package "Is that package bleeding?"

"About ten minutes ago Dr. Brennan received a package containing two of the victim's ribs."

She glanced at the agent ,who was now beginning to realize what he was holding and had gone pale, before continuing "I need you to get Emily Harrington to leave right now. Make sure she doesn't glance at the package."

Sweets actually seemed to be on the same page as her "so she won't be scarred?"

"Yes, hurry up."

The young agent, although pale seemed to almost be caught in a hype apparently having forgotten for a few seconds again that he was holding part of a corpse "What should I do?"

"For now you're going to wait until the scientists from the Jeffersonian arrive and then you're going to get the security tapes for them."

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Reviews por favor?


	7. Chapter 7

Because of Walsh's anxiety, it felt like hours must have passed between when she first noticed the stain and when Hodgins and the current intern, Arastoo Vaziri walked through the door. By checking her watch she knew that it had only been roughly ten minutes. The younger FBI agent, Agent Donovan as she now remembered his name to be, was pacing back and forth nervously while glancing at the package.

"Is that really part of a corpse?" Donovan asked Hodgins.

"I won't know until I open up the package." Hodgins responded.

If she hadn't been nervous herself, Walsh would have found watching Donovan pace to be humorous. Everything about the younger man's appearance exuded the image of an alpha male. Everything that is except his composure. However she couldn't deny that she too was wondering what it meant if they found Ashley Harrington's missing ribs inside the package before her.

Hodgins snapped on pairs of rubber gloves and goggles before picking up the package. He didn't have to tell Walsh or Donovan to step back, because they already had. However, he did so anyway. Walsh suspect it was another one of his ways to show that he hadn't one hundred percent accepted her as a member of the team yet.

Walsh held her breath anxiously as he opened the package. By the expression on his face she didn't need to ask what the contents were, however Donovan wasn't as keen on the little nuances and asked anyway. "What's in the package?"

"Ashley Harrington's floating ribs." Hodgins responded.

Donovan's face turned a sickly shade of green and before Walsh had time to properly react she was showered in the remains of what smelled like the remains of a roast beef sandwich.

Hodgins and Arastoo immediately began laughing, apparently either unable to contain themselves or not caring about whether or not she saw them. Donovan on the other hand looked like he expected to be yelled at any second for his actions.

Walsh was unsure of who to scold first, so she shot Hodgins and Arastoo a glare before turning to Donovan and gritting her teeth "you're not going to vomit again are you?"

The younger agent shook his head a little too rapidly "No ma'am."

She sighed deeply before resigning herself to a shower and a change of clothes from the locker room downstairs.

Half an hour later, Walsh was considerably calmer and cleaner and ready for a short drive to the Jeffersonian to view the results of a review of the security tapes from both buildings. She was walking out of the locker room when Booth surprised her.

"You didn't tell me Bones had human remains sent to her workplace."

"I thought that was her job to tell you?" Walsh responded quickly, briefly wondering if she should tell her own husband about her special delivery just so he'd know she was okay. However, she decided that at least temporarily she'd let him focus on matters of national security.

"Bones doesn't see the importance of revealing those things."

"Well i'm sorry I didn't stop by your office on my way to the locker room after Agent Donovan lost his lunch on me." she smiled sarcastically.

Booth looked confused briefly before asking "Is she in any danger?"

"It's too early to know. I received a package as well, so if there's a target on her it's on me as well."

"I'd appreciate being kept in the loop in the future and not finding out through Sweets."

Walsh sighed wearily "I'd tell your girlfriend that then. I can't be everywhere at once. As much as I enjoy making sure the Jeffersonian team is safe while they do their jobs, I do have my own issues that I have to deal with in my life and cannot control what Dr. Brennan does and doesn't do." she offered another sarcastic smile as she tried to push past Booth "now if you'll excuse me, I have a case to work."

She could tell that Booth was annoyed by this, but she didn't care, she just wanted to see the tape so that she could have some security. She'd never admit it, but part of her did fear for her own safety as well as Dr. Brennan's.

Walsh found herself checking under her SUV in the garage before climbing into the driver's seat. There was nothing, which she should have known. After all, killers usually preferred a certain method of committing their crimes and Ashley Harrington hadn't been blown up. Still, it comforted her knowing that at least temporarily she was safe. The drive to the Jeffersonian also made Walsh anxious and she wasn't relieved until she was inside the building.

She found the members of the Jeffersonian team gathered in one of the offices off to the side of the platform.

"I see that you don't smell like vomit anymore." Brennan remarked upon seeing her. Walsh ignored the biting tone of the other woman's remark.

"Have we isolated any potential suspects?"

"My software managed to identify a figure that appears to be the same person on both cameras, however I can't get a clear look at their face." Angela Montenegro pointed at a computer screen. Out of the scientists, Angela had been the person who was most friendly to Walsh the soonest. That being said, she was sure that even Angela hadn't completely accepted her, it just didn't seem to be in the woman's nature to make biting remarks.

"Is there anything unique about the clothing the suspect is wearing?" Walsh asked.

"No, it's pretty standard and not very tasteful." Angela answered.

Walsh paused before speaking again "Good work on beginning to identify a suspect." she bit her lip before continuing "Oh and Dr. Brennan, I think Agent Booth would appreciate it if you gave him a call."


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as Brennan had left Angela's office, Walsh realized that she probably owed Booth an apology as well. She knew that she'd been a bit harsh on the younger agent and even if it had been because her nerves had been frayed, it didn't exactly justify her actions. She wasn't sure how long she had to plan her apology, but she decided to at least temporarily return to the case.

"Was there anything special about the paper that the remains were packaged in?"

"No, it was the standard issue parcel paper." Hodgins responded. "I did find a trace on it though."

Walsh was immediately interested. "What was the trace?"

"Methyl sacilylate" Hodgins responded in a tone that was a little too happy.

"Okay, what is methyl sacilylate?"

Hodgins looked briefly surprised that Walsh pronounced the name of the chemical correctly before continuing "methyl sacilylate is one of the active ingredients in muscle ointments."

"Do you know how many people must use muscle creams and ointments in Washington D.C.?" Walsh sighed.

"I cannot choose what trace I find."

"I know," Walsh sighed again "it's just that I want to solve this case especially now that there's a level of danger."

Hodgins gave her a funny look as Brennan returned from making her phone call "you're not the only one...a member of our team received a package as well Agent Walsh."

She ignored the slight annoyance in his voice..."I need to make some phone calls."

Once she was standing outside of the office she pulled out her cellphone. As much as it hurt her to admit it, she knew she needed to call Booth first and apologize. It took Walsh a few minutes to find the number in her phone, but when she dialed it Agent Booth picked up quickly.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth."

"I'm sorry," Walsh said quickly.

"Who is this?" Booth responded confused and that's when Walsh realized she'd forgotten to introduce herself.

"Agent Walsh. I was a huge bitch earlier and I'm sorry." she really hated having to do this, so she found herself hanging up before he could respond.

The second number she dialed was her husband's. She reached his voicemail and left a message trying to keep her voice even. Eventhough she was worried about the package and felt she needed to tell him about it as well as that she knew once he did know he wouldn't be calm she wanted to keep him from worrying about her as much as possible.

"It's Teresa...whenever you get the time call me back."

When she re-entered the office everyone was staring at her in a way that showed they'd at least tried to listen in on her phone conversations. She tried to keep her annoyance about this in check.

"Have you received any new information on the case Agent Walsh?" Brennan asked.

"No."

"So those were personal calls?"

Walsh tried to ignore the tone of voice, although she could feel her natural temper trying to rise to the surface "Yes," she bit her lip before responding again "have the ribs been positively identified as coming from Ashley Harrington?"

"I'm running the tests right now, but it would be quite alarming if they didn't."

"Wouldn't that mean a serial killer was potentially on the lose?"

"I'd think that would be more the FBI's job to confirm or deny, but the ribs will likely belong to our victim on the table."

Walsh nodded "hopefully that will be determined. It just seems odd to have such ritualism in a single murder. Killers don't usually establish a certain type of murder as a signature overnight unless of course we have someone who knew the victim trying to throw us off by making it look ritualistic."

"Shouldn't there be a way to track that in the FBI databases?"

Walsh nodded "we can search for murders with similar attributes to the Ashley Harrington one even if all the ribs do belong to the same person, it seems like an excessive amount of work if there haven't been previous murders."

"Okay, we'll check the databases." Hodgins sounded a bit annoyed and Walsh realized he must have felt like she'd tried to belittle them by suggesting that they needed to have the reason to use the database explained to them.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled soft enough that it could barely be heard. She found herself saved from the awkward situation by her phone vibrating in her pocket "I'll take this." she paused before continuing "in the break area."

* * *

Not sure if that was a weird place to leave off or not...I wanted to post a new chapter though. However, since I haven't updated my other older fic in a very long time, this will not have another new chapter until that one does.


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